NATS software failure disrupts 2,956 flights across UK airports and Canary Islands routes

Disruption overview

A software failure at NATS on 15 September 2026 disrupted flights across British airspace and hit routes between the United Kingdom and Spain's Canary Islands especially hard. At least 2,956 flights were affected, with cancellations and delays continuing into 16 September at London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport, London Luton Airport, Manchester Airport, Birmingham Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Newcastle Airport, Bristol Airport, and Glasgow Airport. easyJet, British Airways, KLM, Eurowings, and Ryanair were among the airlines caught up in the disruption. Because the problem came from air traffic control rather than the airlines, compensation is unlikely under EC 261, but carriers still need to provide care, rebooking, or refunds where needed.

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Disruption details

A software failure at the UK's National Air Traffic Services system on 15 September 2026 disrupted flights across British airspace and hit routes between the United Kingdom and Spain's Canary Islands especially hard. For passengers, that meant canceled departures, long delays, and plenty of uncertainty at airports across the UK.

By 5:00 pm on 15 September, FlightRadar24 had logged at least 425 cancellations across the country. easyJet, British Airways, KLM, Eurowings, and Ryanair were among the airlines most visibly affected, but the overall picture quickly grew bigger than the first count suggested.

The scale became clearer as the disruption rolled into the next day:

• FlightRadar24 logged 425 cancellations across the UK by 5:00 pm on 15 September.

• Cirium estimated that more than 2,000 flights were disrupted, with over 1,750 of them canceled.

• Early on 16 September, Heathrow alone had 246 cancellations, while AirNav Radar counted another 1,226 delays and 293 cancellations across the network.

Across the disruption, at least 2,956 flights were affected. Routes to and from London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport, London Luton Airport, Manchester Airport, Birmingham Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Newcastle Airport, Bristol Airport, and Glasgow Airport were among the worst hit.

The knock-on effect was especially tough on Canary Islands services. Aircraft and crews ended up out of position on routes between the UK and Spain, which led to further cancellations and long delays at both ends of those journeys.

For you, this kind of disruption can mean missed connections, extra waiting time, and plans changing with very little warning. Ryanair later said the outage had affected about 150,000 of its customers after more than 200 of its flights were canceled.

The problem began on Tuesday morning inside the flight-processing system used by NATS. UK Transport Minister Heidi Alexander convened an emergency meeting with NATS leadership, and an investigation is now underway. Officials have provisionally ruled out a cyber-attack.

Ryanair Chief Operating Officer Neal McMahon publicly called for NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe to resign. Rolfe apologized as airlines and passengers dealt with the fallout.

NATS said late on 16 September 2026 that the underlying system problem had been fixed and that air traffic operations were back to normal. Even so, airlines warned that resetting schedules would take time because aircraft and crews still had to be moved back into place.

That meant further disruption at major hubs such as Heathrow and Gatwick was still likely while the backlog cleared. Passengers were advised not to travel to the airport until their flight status had been confirmed.

Airlines including easyJet and British Airways introduced rebooking or refund options for affected travelers. easyJet also offered meals and hotel accommodation where needed, which matters if you were left waiting for hours or stranded overnight.

Because this disruption was caused by air traffic control rather than the airlines, compensation is unlikely under EC 261. In situations like this, the airline usually isn't considered responsible for the original problem, even if your flight was delayed or canceled.

That doesn't mean you're without support. Your airline should still help with care and assistance, including meals and refreshments during long waits, hotel accommodation if you need to stay overnight, and rerouting or a refund if your flight couldn't go ahead.

If your trip to or from the United Kingdom or Spain was affected, it's still worth checking what applies to your booking. AirHelp's free flight checker can help you understand your rights and whether your airline should be providing additional support.

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